Opening TipDemetri McCamey is just one assist away from becoming only the second player in Big Ten history to reach career milestones of 1,600 points and 700 assists. McCamey has recorded 1,627 points and 699 assists for the Illini. Michigan's Gary Grant totaled 2,222 points and 731 assists from 1985-88. McCamey is the NCAA's active career assists leader.

Illini Look to Extend Record Success against Hawkeyes
Illinois has won five consecutive games vs. Iowa heading into Saturday night, equaling its longest winning streak ever against the Hawkeyes. The Illini also won five straight over Iowa from Jan. 5, 1963 through Feb. 23, 1965.

The all-time series between Illinois and Iowa stood at 64-62 in favor of the Illini entering the previous decade. Illinois has since won 15 of 19 games, including 11 of 13 under Coach Bruce Weber, to now hold a 79-66 advantage in the series.

Difficult Road Finish
Illinois concludes the regular season with one of the toughest road schedules in the country. The UI's final three road opponents, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue, are a combined 21-1 on their homecourt in Big Ten play, and 44-2 overall at home this season. Ohio State and Purdue are ranked among the top eight teams nationally in the latest polls, while all three are among the top four teams in the current conference standings.

Illinois Is ...
 17-0 in games where it has held a double-digit lead.
 17-0 when winning the "Matto".
 13-0 when Demetri McCamey has 7+ assists.
 9-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponent.
 14-1 when scoring 71+ points.
 13-2 when shooting 45+ percent.
 12-2 at the Assembly Hall.
 17-3 when shooting better than its opponent.
 10-3 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.

Fighting Illini Trends
 Illinois shot 51.9 percent Tuesday at Ohio State, topping 50 percent for the first time in nine games.
 The Illini also broke out of their 3-point slump at Ohio State, shooting 52.4 percent (11-21) on threes against the Buckeyes after shooting 26.1 percent (18-69) from behind the arc over the previous four games.
 Mike Davis has averaged 13.9 points (139) and 7.6 rebounds (76) over the last 10 games.
 Davis has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games while also grabbing at least seven rebounds in eight of those contests.
 Either Davis (6) or Jereme Richmond (4) has been the Illini's leading rebounder in each of the last 10 games.
 Demetri McCamey has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.
 McCamey is shooting 52.4 percent from 3-point range (11-21) over the last three games.
 McCamey has made 11 three-pointers over the last three games after totaling 10 treys over the previous eight games.
 McCamey dished out six assists Tuesday at Ohio State, exceeding five assists for the first time in nine games.
 McCamey has dished out at least seven assists in each of his last four games vs. Iowa, averaging 7.8 apg (31).
 Mike Tisdale has averaged 11.0 points (44) on 60 percent shooting (18-30) over the last four games, after averaging just 5.8 points (23) on 37.5 percent shooting (9-24) over the previous four games.
 Brandon Paul has averaged 13.3 points (80) over the last six games, scoring in double figures four times.
 Paul has made 30-of-33 free throws (90.9 percent) over the last nine games.
 Richmond has averaged 9.0 points over the last two games (18) after averaging 4.0 points (16) over the previous four games.
 D.J. Richardson has scored in double figures in all three of his games vs. Iowa, averaging 15.0 points (45).
 Bill Cole has committed only six turnovers in 319 minutes during Big Ten play, an average of one turnover every 53.2 minutes.

Last Time Out: Ohio State 89, Illinois 70 - Feb. 22
Illinois broke out of its shooting slump but was unable to slow down the offense of No. 2 Ohio State on its home floor. The Illini held with the Buckeyes for the majority of the opening 20 minutes, but OSU ended the half on a 14-2 run to turn 3-point lead into a 15-point advantage at intermission. The Illini made one more push, cutting the deficit to six at 49-43 with 15 minutes remaining. But OSU's David Lighty then went on a personal 13-point spree, including 10 unanswered, to put the game out of reach.

Ohio State became the first team in 38 games to top 50 percent against the Illini defense, shooting 53 percent to end a streak that dated back to Feb. 14 of last season. Illinois also had a hot hand, shooting 52 percent from the field, including 11-of-21 from 3-point range. But turnovers were the difference on this night. The Illini committed 16 turnovers compared to just three for Ohio State, and the Buckeyes held a 25-to-6 advantage in points off miscues.

Mike Davis led the Illini with 18 points while Demetri McCamey hit four 3-pointers en route to 15 points. Mike Tisdale shot 4-of-5 from behind the arc and scored 14, and Jereme Richmond just missed a double-double, finishing with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Looking Back at the Last Iowa Game:
 Illinois 87, Iowa 77 // Dec. 29 // Iowa City
Illinois won its Big Ten opener for the 10th time in the last 12 years, posting a 10-point victory at Iowa. The Illini started hot from the field, making nine of its first 10 shots, including its first seven 3-point attempts, in jumping out to a 23-15 lead. Illinois led by 12 at halftime and opened the second half on a 9-0 run to open its largest lead of the game at 58-39. The Hawkeyes answered with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the lead to nine. Iowa got as close as six points at 65-59 with less than eight minutes left, but Demetri McCamey scored back-to-back buckets on a long two followed by his fourth trey of the game to push the lead back to a comfortable 11 points from which the Illini did not look back.

Illinois' shooting was the story of the game with the Illini making 66.7 percent on the night and a school-record 72.2 percent from 3-point range. Five players scored in double figures, led by McCamey's 20 points. D.J. Richardson scored a season-high 17, Mike Davis had 15, Bill Cole added a season-high 14 off the bench and Jereme Richmond chipped in 12. All of Illinois' season-high 13 three-pointers came from just three players. Richardson tied his career high with five treys on seven attempts, McCamey was 4-of-5 from behind the arc and Cole added perfect 4-of-4 shooting from distance.

Illinois' score of 87 was its highest point total ever at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and its most in Iowa City since scoring 89 on Feb. 17, 1967. The 87 points also were Illinois' most in a Big Ten road game since scoring 95 at Penn State on Jan. 31, 2001.

Current Illini vs. IowaD.J. Richardson (3 G): 15.0 ppg (45), 2.0 rpg (6)
Highlights: Season-high 17 points, shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and career-high tying five assists earlier this season in Iowa City ... 11 points last year in Iowa City ... Game-high 17 points, and 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point land, last year in Champaign.

Demetri McCamey (5 G): 12.0 ppg (60), 4.4 rpg (22), 7.0 apg (35)
Highlights: Double-double with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and game-high 10 assists earlier this season in Iowa City ... 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists last year in Iowa City ... Seven assists last year in Champaign ...Seven assists in 2009 in Champaign.

Career Milestones to Watch for Illini Seniors
 Demetri McCamey is one assist away from becoming the second player in school history and fourth in Big Ten history to reach 700 career assists. McCamey is the active NCAA leader in career assists with 699.

 Mike Davis moved into second place on the Illinois career rebounding list Tuesday at Ohio State. Davis also is the active Big Ten leader in career rebounds with 858.

 Mike Tisdale is nine blocks away from tying the Illinois school record for career blocked shots. Tisdale currently ranks third in school history with 168 blocks.

Hot Shooting at The Hall
 Illinois is 12-2 at home this season. The Illini are shooting 50.4 percent (394-782) from the field at the Assembly Hall.
 Illinois has shot at least 50 percent in seven home games.
 Illinois is outscoring opponents by an average of 12.8 points (179).
 Mike Tisdale is shooting 57.7 percent (56-97) while Mike Davis is shooting 56.9 percent (70-123).
 Demetri McCamey is shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range (29-61).
 D.J. Richardson is shooting 48 percent from the field (48-100) and 43.4 percent from 3-point land (28-64).
 Jereme Richmond is shooting 58.5 percent (55-94) while Meyers Leonard is shooting 58.1 percent (18-31).

For complete set of Illinois Basketball notes, click on PDF link at top of page.